Protect
by Selphie Kinneas 175
Summary: BotW. One-shot. He had to protect her at all costs. He would be her shield, her safe place, her protector. He would die for it.


**A/N: Breath of the Wild last memory spoilers!**

This is a short one-shot exploring the final memory of Link's last stand in which he dies (or near dies, depending on your view of it) in Breath of the Wild. Enjoy :)

**Disclaimer:** _The story below contains intellectual properties from Nintendo Co., including, but not limited to, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and The Legend of Zelda franchise, and are in no way owned by myself, nor do I claim ownership of any of the events that directly correlate with previous installments made by Nintendo Co. in the franchise The Legend of Zelda._

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**Protect**

_By: Selphie Kinneas 175_

**.:.**

His job was to protect.

His sole purpose was to keep her safe.

His role was to be her guard - his place was before her so that no harm may befall her.

His part was that of the knight, the steadfast defender, the shield upon which monsters and demons fell.

He would be her shelter, he would be her armor, he would be her protector.

Until his last, dying breath.

It just came sooner than he had expected.

He gave all of himself. Day in and day out he gave and he gave. She took. Monsters took. The sky and the sea took. The people took. There was nothing left.

Pain was his close friend. Agony and suffering were two very close allies. Death was a neighbor who liked to visit, but he tried his best to ignore.

On this day, he felt that neighbor's clutches grabbing him and pulling him down… and down… and down… He couldn't avoid it any longer.

Still, he stood. He would stand until his legs refused him. He battled the demons until the very force of nature willed his movements. Their armored limbs, and their glowing circuitry, and their piercing gaze. He saw them in his nightmares, only now he was awake.

He'd been struck more times than he could count, but still he fought. The guardians were strong and swift, their lasers melted flesh and their limbs pierced bone. He fought one after another after another, then two at once, and three at once. The princess watched from behind him, hands clutched to her heart.

One got too close to her. He was her shield. It aimed at her and he dove with a speed his sluggish mind could not keep up with. He plowed into her and pushed her to the ground, but he felt heat from the blow at his back. He heard her gasp as they landed, her eyes staring widely at his fresh wound. That didn't matter, that's what shields were for.

He ran up to the beast as it charged its next attack, stabbing it clean in the eye. It perished, but another soon stepped up to take its place, and another joined it.

Still he stood. He would always stand, until he could stand no longer.

He ducked under a red, hot beam and leapt over another. He ran and ran to close the gap, dodging when he could and taking the hit when he could not. He ended one, and another approached. The one behind him caught him off guard.

"LINK!"

He heard her scream and for a moment did not feel the pain. He looked down and blood quickly soaked him, then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

He collapsed to one knee, but he couldn't stay there. He had to stand. He was her shield. He was her protector. He _must_ stand.

He got to his feet and stood before her, for he would never dare allow a hair be misplaced on her head. He faltered but stayed true. She urged him to save himself, but what was the purpose of a shield without an entity to stand before?

Blood soaked him, mud weighted him, exhaustion buried him. But he stood.

One more still loomed before them. Its glare alight, its desire to end painted on the knight's face. He had not the strength, but he would still stand.

The buzz burned his ear drums and he closed his eyes as he accepted this final blow, this final crack in the princess' shield that would shatter it. She would have enough time to escape, and she could find a newer, better shield – he took solace in those thoughts.

Before death could claim him, the goddess emerged.

She shielded _him_… and cast away the monsters.

He failed her. The pain was too much. He stood no longer.

He hit the dirt and felt regret carrying him away. The guilt, the shame. He was to protect her. He was to be her shield.

"Link! Get up!"

She held him close, closer than she had ever let him in. She wept, but he barely saw it.

"I… let you down," he coughed.

"Nonsense," she wiped her tears with her dirty hands.

She saw him struggling to form the words, words she could tell by the looks in his eyes he so desired to say, but was too weak to utter.

"Save your strength," she urged.

His left hand still grasped the hilt of the Master Sword with what frail power he had left, his duty to protect his princess ever at the forefront of his mind. His right hand clutched at his middle, the pool of blood flowing like a river.

She placed her hand on top of his in a futile attempt to staunch the bleeding. She was frantic, her heart beat faster than she could count, and she could barely see through the tears – but she could see the blood. There was just too much.

"I failed…" _cough_, "failed you…"

"Nonsense!" her panic took hold, "I said it was nonsense and it is nonsense!"

He looked up at her, and his eyes stole her breath. The blue she recalled rivaling the crystal waters of Zora's Domain were dim. His vitality, his indomitable will, his undeniable courage and strength against all odds… was gone. He gazed up at her with dull, tired eyes, not the same eyes she'd been looking into for so long.

She had been mean to him, had been so unnecessarily cruel. She held resentment toward him for becoming his destiny so easily. It had been so hard for her. But she knew, if he had known all along what he had to do to unlock her powers was knock on death's door… he would have done it willingly long ago.

"I don't know what to do, Link," she blinked through a watery filter, "You always know what to do… You always know…"

The corner of his lips just barely perked up, "I never knew," he grimaced but tried to hide it from her, "I only ever did… what I thought was best… What would keep you safe."

His chest tightened, not from pain, but from fear. Fear that his death left his princess undefended. He had sworn an oath. He had made a promise. He had not lived to see that oath realized, that promise completed. What afterlife would greet a knight who abandoned his charge? His fate concerned him not; he prayed to any deity that would listen that Zelda would be safe, that they would watch over her in his absence, in his failure. Ganon had bested him, had bested all of the champions, but perhaps the princess possessed a strength that he did not.

He had failed. His oath relinquished, his goal unreached and his duty unfulfilled, he would perish. She would carry on where he could not. His regret would never let him rest.

She shut her eyes and sobbed. Her heart ached with a pain she had never felt. He did everything that was asked of him and more. He _did_ do what was best. He _did_ keep her safe. She let him down. She took too long to awaken her power; she had to let him die for the goddess inside of her to at last make herself known. But all he could think about was his own supposed shortcomings, which, she knew now, was only putting his princess before himself, even when she was not deserving.

"I'm so sorry, Link! I'm so, so, so sorry…" she cried into his chest.

His body grew numb from the pain. No longer could he feel the jelly that made up his legs. No longer could he feel the piping hot magma flowing from his wounds. No longer could he feel his head pound between his ears, his bruises and scrapes writhe like worms on his skin. All at once he felt light, and the grass beneath him was a cloud.

That persistent neighbor was calling to him again, only, it sounded so much more enticing this time…

"Me, too," his voice was so small she barely caught it.

She lifted her head to look at him, and his weary eyes were drooping. She was losing him, but she couldn't give up on him, just like he had never given up on her.

"You're going to be just fine…"

They stared and time was lost. Their hearts beat in sync and there were no surroundings. He and death had a conversation, a mutual understanding. He could fight his old friend no longer. His body was no longer his own, and he came to terms with it.

In the slowest ticking of seconds to minutes, her knight's eyes closed, and he went limp in her arms.

Her heart jumped into her throat. It stayed there uncomfortably until she became hyper aware of its presence. She could not speak or react – she was paralyzed. She had never felt so ashamed of herself, so guilty, so… undeniably selfish.

Her body at last caught up with her, and she bawled unapologetically. She clung her knight close to her and rocked them both slowly. How could she let this happen? How could all of this have happened… Her champions, no, her _friends_. Her father… she had failed them all. They all died because she couldn't summon the birthright thrust upon her in time. Part of her wanted to give up. Without her loved ones, what point was there in getting up and going on? Without her people, what point was there in protecting an empty kingdom?

Those thoughts were fleeting. She heard the sword of the hero whisper to her, and the goddess within her reacted. She was the princess, she was the goddess reborn – she would not allow evil incarnate to swallow her kingdom. She would save those that could not save themselves, and she would stand when her knight could not, until, at last, he could stand again.

He floated… and floated… and floated… He heard a voice in the darkness, a calming one, a soothing one. After eons he felt heavy, he felt regret, though he could not place it.

He felt an uncanny serenity in this space of in-between, one that he felt did not belong to him. He no longer knew who or what he was, but he knew he needed to get back to her. He didn't know who, but he knew he had to protect her, no matter the cost.

He swam in an ocean of nothingness for decades. His soul forgot reality. His eyes forgot sight and his ears forgot sound. He knew not what beckoned him only that it needed him.

He drifted and floated, untold years passing by in agonizing millennia. He heard her often, but only subconsciously. At last, he heard her out loud.

"Wake up."

He didn't know who she was, but he was bound to her. He had to get to her. He had to keep her safe. He was her guard upon which monsters fell. He was her shield upon which pain and suffering broke like water. He would get it right this time, though he did not know what that meant.

His job was to protect.

And he would protect her.

Until his last, dying breath.

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_**End.**_

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_A big thank you to the following for helping me get this one-shot out there!_

SonadowKokoro100, Debora, Chloe Rose, Claudia, Gabby-J, Jessie, Lotus Eater, Ivalee, Mandelbrot, Lee Glerum, Big Jake, Jacob Peachey, Francisco Hernández

_You guys are amazing!_


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